New features announced for Outlook Web

Microsoft has posted about upcoming new features in Outlook Web. Updated Outlook Web will feature Contact cards, new improved search, contact list and more.

New Updated Contact Cards

Contact Cards updated to provide a “no-click” way to access common communication actions, as well as provide the ability to see who someone is and how you know them. When in Mail or Calendar, simply hover your mouse over an individual’s name to bring up their Contact Card. The Contact Card allows you to quickly email, IM, call or create a calendar appointment.

Improved search

In late 2015, we announced significant changes to Outlook on the web’s ability to understand the people most relevant to you when composing an email or calendar invites. We expanded this same intelligence to the search box in the Mail, Calendar and People modules. For example, if you frequently communicate with Sarah Davis, typing an “S” or “D” in the search box will bring up her name first—even if her name is not alphabetically first in your company’s directory. Outlook knows Sarah is likely the person you are searching for as she is the most relevant person to you based on your communications, collaborations, and business relationship.

New contact lists

Finally, we made several enhancements to the main People section itself. The biggest change is the addition of a new “Featured People” section that contains smart lists. Smart lists allow you to view people by the way you interact with them in Outlook—such as in email or shared meetings. Many of the lists are dynamic, which means the people in the list change as your interactions evolve over time. The smart lists include:

Frequently contacted: This list analyzes the strongest signals coming across all of the Outlook to understand who you work with the most. It takes into account your communication, collaboration, and business relationships.

On your calendar: List of the people found in your upcoming calendar appointments that day, which is extremely helpful when preparing for meetings. You can click through to the specific meeting to see who is attending, as well as drill down on any individual via the Contact pane.

For follow-up: List of the people who recently sent you an email that might require your action. It is a good way to get an overview of who is writing you, what they are writing about and whether you have multiple follow-up items from the same person.

Favorites: The Favorites list is one you manage yourself. Similar to Skype favorites, you can add or remove people from your Favorites list for quick and easy access to the latest communication you’ve had with them—for people both inside and outside your organization.